The present invention relates to: a mat that is comfortable to lie on, sturdy, and conveniently portable and can be connected to a pillow, a sleeping bag, or other mat(s); a pillow and a sleeping bag that can be connected to the above-described mat; bedding including the above-described mat and pillow; and bedding including the above-described sleeping bag and mat.
When a rug, a mattress, an air mattress or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as a “mat”) is used with a pillow for outdoor leisure, mainly in camps, as bedding for sleeping purposes, the pillow sometimes slips and moves away from a user's head. Particularly, a stuff bag or similar used as a pillow is made of slippery materials (fabrics) such as nylon taffeta and, therefore, it is known that such a pillow can easily slip and move away from its original position. This pillow slipping occurs when the pillow is placed and used on the mat, and also when the pillow is placed and used beside the mat. Even in the case of a mat used with a pillow mainly in a bedroom or the like, the pillow sometimes moves and slips away from a user's head while the user is sleeping. As a result, such a mat disturbs the user's sleep and makes the user uncomfortable while they are sleeping.
As an example of a conveniently portable mat, there is a leisure mat that has a band attached to one of its side edges on the back surface, that can be rolled into an easily portable shape (see JP-A-7-213337).
Moreover, there is a portable mat made by placing long and narrow rush-woven straw mat members side by side so that the joints are aligned along the widthwise direction of the mat, connecting the adjacent edges of the straw mat members with soft band cloth so as to make the mat foldable, and forming a handle and a bandage-like string at specified positions on any of the straw mat members (see JP-A-8-215024).
Furthermore, a mat made of a plurality of laminated layers and an air mat containing air are configured so that joint margins (adhesion margins) are formed at the ends (along the periphery or the edges) of the mat and are joined together (see JP-A-2005-6956 and JP-UM-A-7-12158).
There is also an air mat that realizes cushioning by having air injected into a flat-bag-shaped body, that is configured in such a way that a pillow part is provided as an independent air chamber at one end of the mat, and a main body excluding the pillow part is composed of at least two independent main air chambers, each of which is partitioned to form an intermeshing comb teeth shape. In this air mat, edge areas are provided along at least both side edges of the mat, and snap fasteners capable of connecting the mat with an adjacent mat are placed along the edge areas, and a plurality of air mats can be connected by fastening the snaps (see JP-A-10-201576).
However, the mats described in the aforementioned patent documents JP-A-7-213337, JP-A-8-215024, JP-A-2005-6956, and JP-UM-A-7-12158 are not designed to prevent a pillow from slipping and moving away from a desired position. Some of the aforementioned patent documents JP-A-7-213337, JP-A-8-215024, JP-A-2005-6956, and JP-UM-A-7-12158 are designed so that they can be carried easily, but the idea of dividing a mat into small mat pieces and connecting the mat pieces as necessary to form and use a mat of a desired size is not incorporated in those inventions.
Moreover, the mats described in JP-A-7-213337, JP-A-8-215024, JP-A-2005-6956, JP-UM-A-7-12158, and JP-A-10-201576 have joint margins along their edges, and the joint margins are joined together to form the mat. This configuration causes an increase in the material costs and weight of the mat. Also, since the joint parts are located along the edges, there is concern that the joint parts may easily break away.
In the air mat described in JP-A-10-201576, the pillow cannot be removed from the main body. This air mat is configured in such a way that it is connected to another air mat by fastening a plurality of snaps provided along the edges of the mat. This means that the snaps are located where a user lies down. Therefore, the use can feel bumps and the mat is uncomfortable to lie down on.